Ethylene Derivatives - PE, PVC, PS & Other

Petron’s renewable bioEthylene process is used to manufacture various polymers, such as ‘green’ HDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Styrene, Polystyrene, EDC/VCM & PVC, and other products. Petron‘s core technology can produce polymer grade bioEthylene which is needed for manufacturing different derivatives of higher quality Ethylene. Petron works very closely with prominent technology suppliers of PE, Styrene/Polystyrene, EDC/VCM/PVC and other Ethylene derivatives. Petron offers Technology and FEED packages for the production of the Ethylene derivatives. Products manufactured from bioEthylene™ are also considered green polymers.

Chemical grade BioEthylene can be used to create synthetic plastic polymers such as Ethylene Dichloride (EDC), which is a specific type of chlorinated hydrocarbon that is used to produce Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM), which is later used as a primary precursor for Poly-Vinyl Chloride (PVC) production.

PVC is the third-most utilized plastic polymer after Polyethylene and Polypropylene. The main forms of PVC can come as a rigid solid or as a flexible plastic. Its utility varies from plumbing, electrical insulation, signage, inflatable products, irrigation pumps, and many other conditions that need rubber-like insulation and plastic-level durability. It is important to note that these plants can be optimally integrated with biomass or ethane based ethylene processes.

Styrene/Polystyrene

Another capability of BioEthylene is to use to form styrene molecules (via ethyl benzene route) that can be used to create polystyrene, ABS, styrene-butadiene (SBR), rubber, SBR latex, and many other polymerized molecules. It is estimated that over 25 million tonnes of styrene was produced in 2010 from feed petroleum feed stocks.

The most common utility of styrene is to form polystyrene plastic. Generally it is a clear, glassy, hard, and brittle resin that due to its unique nature has an annual estimated production output of several billion kilograms. It is used to make containers, packaging, bottles, trays, disposable utensils, and many other easily-formed thermoplastic designs. Because it can heated easily and formed to any shape via molding, extrusion, and other similar methods, it holds great potential for limitless applications.

In its non-solid form, it can be used as foams for insulation and can also be turned into Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), a closed-cell foam that can be used to make cups, peanuts, and other disposable materials. These plants can be optimally integrated with biomass ethanol or ethylene processes.

BioPolyethylene

Polymer grade BioEthylene can be polymerized in a specialized process and converted into polyethylene and used for a large variety of purposes. Polyethylene production is a significant industry and is generally considered the most common type of plastic material, it is has annual global demand over 80 million tonnes. The long thermoplastic polymer is comprised over very long hydrocarbon chains. These chains form the polyethylene molecule that can hold many different properties depending on structural grade. The various grades of material provide a large range of utilities which range from packaging films, sturdy bottles, gasoline tanks, and many other uses.

This variety and grade is mostly based on the overall density and branching of the Polyethylene chains. High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), and Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) are three of the more desirable product chains. Many others varieties also exist such as Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), Cross-linked Polyethylene (PEX or XLPE), Medium-Density Polyethylene (MDPE), and very Very-Low Density Polyethylene (VLDPE). Their properties vary, but the higher density variants can with stand higher temperatures, yield greater tensile strength, and usually opaque. As opposed to the lower density types that also tough, but are flexible, soft, good conductors, and are typically observed to be translucent.

This is extremely useful byproduct is yet another specialty of Petron Scientech, which can be created through biomass or ethanol to ethylene technology integration. Since the BioEthylene monomer is structurally identical to its petroleum counterpart, the process of the BioPolyethylene are identical to petroleum routes. In customer applications, BioPolyethylene has been shown to give a distinguishably better product than the petroleum-ethylene based polymer.